Upcoming college graduates job-hunting

Since unemployment is still a concern, upcoming college grads are applying now for jobs.

With eight days until graduation, Lacey Thornsburry has one thing on her mind - getting a job.

"I've even applied out of state even though that's not where I want to be," Thornsburry said.

She's a political science major and has applied to 50 jobs.

"There's not a lot of entry level positions," Thornsburry said.

The job outlook has others like business management major Matt Miclean joining the Army after graduation.

He wants job security.

"I'm always thinking in the back of my head it would be hard to find a job. It would be real competitive with all the graduating seniors," Miclean said.

In 2010, 68 percent of FGCU students had a job upon graduation.

That's higher than both the University of Florida and Florida State.

The average among the 11 state universities is 61 percent.

These numbers don't take into account if grads are still holding down their college jobs; or working in their field.

The most popular field for hiring right now is healthcare, according to FGCU Career Services Director Reid Lennertz.

"More physical therapists, occupational therapists, and nurses, so a lot of that is just driven by the aging population and we probably see that quite a bit even more so here in Southwest Florida," Lennertz said.

Lennertz said across the board most fields are hiring since the economy is slowly improving.And while Miclean is pretty confident the military is his future, Thornsburry hopes her break will come soon.

"I know people who dropped classes in the middle of the semester just to have another semester - just not ready to get out into the work force," Thornsburry said.

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